Rail joint and method of making



Sept. 22, 1925. 1,554,959

R. B. FEH-R RA'IL JOINT AND METHOD or uunis' Filod dan. so. 1924 ,0 r-aZ0 INVENTOR Patented Sept. 22, 1925.

UNITED T STATES PATENT-OFFICE.

ROY B.'FEII R, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO RAIL WELDING & BONDING'COMQ PANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

RAIL JOINT AND METHOD OF MAKING.

Application filed January 20, 1924. Serial to. 689,392.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RoY B. FEI-IR, a citizen of the United States,residing at Cleve land, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio,have invented certain new and use ful Improvements in Rail Joints andMethods of Making, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to welded rail joints and parts thereof.

It is concerned with a new and improved combination of strength givingfeatures, practices and parts adapted to cooperate in a manner to form arail joint of greatly improved physical properties including strength,resistance to fatigue and life, as compared with rail joints in use atpresent.

It is also concerned with a new and improved process of producing a railjoint having the foregoing properties and characteristics.

It is alsoconcerned with the provision of a new and improved jointplate.

The well known need for more durable rail joints, particularly forelectric railways in paved streets has for years stimulated the thoughtof engineers and others to such an extent that the suggested remedies orexpedients are practically without number. So far as I am aware none ofthese suggestions in itself is capable of accomplishing the solution oftheproblem, and it appears certain that no suggestion or combination ofsuggestions ever made has improved the rail joint structure to a pointwhere it ceased to be a vital problem to the railway engineer. I havemade various tests of standard rail joints representative of the most upto date practice of. the foremostrailway engineers including tests in arepeated impact machine (which tests and machine need not be describedherein) and have compared the results with results, similarly obtainedfrom rail oints embodying my in vention, which. comparison indicatesmarked superiority in physical properties of my joints over those in useup to the time of my invention.

My invention contemplates the utilization of certain old, well knownfeatures of constructiou, and certain new features, and new, or suitablyconstructed or altered, old parts combined and cooperating with oneanother and each other to form a substantially unitary rail jointpossessing new and improved physical properties. Specifically itcontemplates the process for and the construction ofa rall jointcomprising abutting, aligned rail ends, joint plates on opposite sidesof the railqends, each plate being weldedas by the electric arc to thehead and base of each rail and each plate having strengthening portionsadjacent to the meeting ends of the rails, and means for placing therail ends under compression and so maintaining them during and after thewelding of the plates thereto. Such a joint combines the advantages ofplates welded to the rail base throughout their full length with thoseof plates having reinforcing base flanges throu hout their full lengthbut which cannot be welded to the rail base. In other words, Iobtain ajoint having plates welded to the railbase and also having an increasedsection modulus at the middle of the plate. My joint also possesses theadvantages due to compression of the rail ends against each other aswell as those of the staggered arrangement of the plates and weldedseams.

The features, practices, configuration of parts and their arrangementand coopera tion with each other by which the foregoing and otherobjects later to'be referred to are attained are set forth in thefollowingspecification and illustrated in the accompanying drawingforming a part hereof. In the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a rail joint embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1. g Flg. 3 is a topplan view of the joint of Fig. 1. t

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a modified form of joint plate.

Fig.5 is a perspective view of a joint with an insert between the rails.V

Fig. 6 is a section taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 1 showing how the driftpin is used to bring the .rail ends together in mutual compression.

In the drawings, 1 indicates each of two abutting rail ends aligned asused ina track, each rail end having a head 2, abase 3 and a web 4. 5indicates the fish plates arranged on opposite sides of the rail endsadjacent to the web 4 and in contact with the head 2 and base 3 of therails. Between the ends of plate 5, I provide a strengthening portion orflange 6 which projects laterally from the base engaging part thereofand serves to increase the section modulus of the plate at the point ofmaximum stress in a rail joint.

The rail ends are shown as provided with holes 7 and 7' extendingthrough the web portion, which are nearly but not quite in alignmentwith similar holes 8 and 8 in plates 5. Tapered drift pins 6 may bedriven through these sets of holes to force the rail ends into moderatecompressive engagement with each other. Thus drift pins 6 may be driventhrough the sets of holes 7 and 8 thereby forcing the rail ends into-moderatecompressive engagement with each other. lVhile the rail ends,and particularly theends of the rail heads, are in such a state ofmutual compression, the rail bolts (not shown) in holes '1' and 8 may bedrawn tightly against the plates thus serving to hold the rails andplates in the compressed position. Other bolts may then replac the driftpins and be similarly tightened against the plates. I do not desire toogreat compression of the railends because it may throw too much tensilestress on the plates.

10 indicates the head seam welds between the rail heads and plates, theends 20 of each weld being spaced some distance from the ends of theplates as shown in Fig. 1. In some cases, it may be desirable tointerrupt the seam weld 10 so as to leave unwelded the plates and railheads immediately adjacent to the abutting faces of the rails, as willbe understood without illustration. The base edges of the plates 5 aresecured to the base 3 of the rails in a similar manner,

as by seam welds 11, the ends of which are.

The upper edge of each plate 5 is proi vided with a rabbeted'recess 9,which, in the form shown in Fig. 2, may extend from the front or outersurface of the plate toward the rear surface in a substantiallyhorizontal plane when the plate is assembled on a rail. The recess 9preferably extends rearwardly from the edge'of and well beneath the railhead, and forwardly of the edge of the rail head, thus constituting aledge. When the rail and plate are assembled, the recess 9 serves as asubstantially horizontally disposed receptacle in which metal may bemelted and welded to the outer and under side of the rail head and thetop side of the plate. This form of recess retains the molten metal inthe desired position and insures a secure connection between wide areasof the plate and head. The form of recess shown in Fig. 2 is thatcommonly employed when the said recess is formed as by a shaping orother machining process.

I have found it preferable to make the rabbeted recess 9 of such sizethat when the plate and rail are in assembled position the greatestdistance between the plate and rail may, for example, be approximately$5. lVith a recess of this size and with a ledge formation, an electricare, such as a carbon are, moving along the seam will fuse substantiallyequal areas of the plate and rail, thus making the weld to the rail andto the plate of substantially equal strength, it

being understood that the seam weld as awhole will have only thestrength provided by the smaller area of contact. It will be furtherunderstood that, since rail joints are ordinarily welded when the railsare in pos tionin the track, the welder must necessarlly direct the arcangularly and downwardly towards the fish plate and adjacent Under suchwelding conditions, the provision of a ledge makes much more certain andconvenient the obtaining of strong welds having large and equal areas ofcontact to the rail and plate.

I prefer to position the plates 5 in staggered relation on oppositesides of the rail ends 1, as will be more clearly shown in Fig.

3, so as to obtain a fillet effect on the rail ends at the ends of theplates or a gradual change in section from the rail alone to the railwith both plates. In order that a plate may fit on either side of therail, I do not locate the strengthening portion, such as flange 6,symmetrically on the plate but offset it from the middle of the platesufiiciently so that itwill lie above the meeting faces of the railbases when used on either side of the rail. The ends of the weldedconnection or welded seam also are shown as staggered with respect tothe plate ends and to each other on opposite sides of the rail.

In Fig. 4 I have illustrated a modified plate 12 embodying my invention,which plate consists of a web portion13 with a modified form of rabbetedrecess 14 on the outer top edge, and cut away at the outer lower edge,as at 15. The modified recess 14: in Fig. 4 is shown as being curved atthe rear portion thereof, the recess extending towards the front of theplate in a substantially horizontal plane, or in a slightly downwardlysloped plane as shown in Fig. 41. The form of recess shown in Fig. 4may, for example, be employed when the recess is formed'by a rolling orsimilar operation, as during the rolling of the plate. Between the endsof the plate is located a strengthening portion 16 so disposed .on theplate as to lie above the meeting faces of the rail bases on either sideof the rail when the plates are staggered substantially as shown. Itwill be understood that the strengthening mum.

In Fig. 5 I have shown fragmentarily a rail joint with a gasket likefilling member or insert between the rail heads. 17 designates therails, 18 the plates, and 19 the 111- sert shaped to the outlines of therail ends. The insert may be only large enough to cover the ends of therail heads or it may cover a greater part or all of the ends of therails. In this figure it covers the ends of the heads and extends ashort distance above the heads, but when driven down it bears on the topof the plates. A joint constructed with such an insert will have thespace or gap between the rail heads substantially filled by the insert.

In practicing my invention in one of ts forms, I first assemble two railends in aligned, abutting position with oint plates on opposite. sidesthereof in contact with each of the rails, the plates being preferablystaggered so that the ends are spaced apart with respect to the lengthof the rail. I then insert bolts in holes 7 and 8 and draw them upsnugly but not tightly. Then I drive tapered drift pins through theholes 7* and 8 in the plates, thereby placing the rail ends, and wherethe rail encs are suitably prepared, as will be described hereinafter,placing particularly the rail heads in a state of mutual moderatecompresslon.

t The bolts in 7 b and 8 are then tightened and the drift pins replacedby bolts which are likewise tightened. When I join the plates to therail by seam welds using preferably the carbon arc process although themetal arc process may be employed in certain cases. It will beunderstood of course that in either the carbon or metal are process themetal which may be melted and welded to each rail and plate is usuallysupplied from a welding rod or electrode, the head seams being formedbetween the plat-es and the outer and under sides of the rail heads andthe base seams being formed between the side surface of the plates andthe top surface of the rail base.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art, that by compressingthe rail ends, and using joint plates which have fishing engagement withthe rail heads and bases, I provide in the joint an additionalcompression at theabutted ends of the rail heads which co-operates withthe plates in resisting stresses set up by loads which cause the railjoint to act'as abeam and that by providing this additional compression,the strength of the joint is correspondingly increased over a jointwhere the rail ends are supported entirely by the plates. A furtheradvantage in this procedure is that the rail ends are held so closetogether that there is no gap, and consequently no opportunity for thecold flowing of rail head metal into. agap; Cupping is "thussubstantially eliminated.

It will furtherbe obvious to those skilled. in the art that bystaggering the plates I strengthen the joint, because I provide a filleteffect near the ends of the rails, there by distributing the stressesimposed upon the rails at the ends of the joint instead of localizingthe stresses in the rails at the ends of the plates as is the case wherethe plates are not staggered. I have further increased the strength ofthe joint by staggering the ends of the seam-welds with respect to eachother as well as to the ends of the plates.

It will also be noted that I have provided plates which have theirmaximum stren th at the part thereof which directly over ies the meetingfaces of the rail ends, which is the point of greatest stress on theplates. In the modifications shown, this strengthening portion may besoWide that it may make it impossible or inadvisable to'weld the outersurface thereof to the rail base. i The strengthening portion of theplate whether welded to the rail base orj not, contributes much to thestrength of the plateandrof the joint, becauseof its increasedsectionmodulus at the point of maximum stress.

It will be seen that by forming at the upper edge of each plate arabbeted recess well. beneath an adjacent rail head and extendingforwardly of the edge of the rail head to constitute a ledge, I haveprovided a means by which large equal areas of weld-' ed contact of seamwith the plate and rail maybe obtained when the rails are positioned inthe track and when the welding arc is directed angularly and downwardlytowards the fish plate andrail, thus obtaining with greatestease andpositiveness strong welded joints.

Although I have described the use of drift pins for compressing the railends, other means for accomplishing the same result may be employedwithout departing from my invention, as for example, driving a wedge(not shown) between the ends of the assembled rails at an adjacent jointas will be readily understood. a

In certain cases, it'may be desirable to omit the groove 9 from theplates. This is often true when metal arc welding is employed instead ofcarbon arc welding. In

such cases, the plates may be substantially as shown in Figs. 1 to 4except that no groove will be formed along the upper edge of the plate.

In carrying out my method, I preferably employ prepared rail ends. Thepreparation of the rail ends, which may perhaps be most convenientlydone at the rolling mill, comprises suitably surfacing the abuttingfaces of the rail ends, as for example, by

milling. If the webs and bases are cut back thereby leaving the headsonly to contact when the rails are brought together in a joint as whereit is desired to confine the mutual endwise compression to the railheads, such preparation, surfacing or milling may be confined to theends of the rail heads.

Although I have shown and described my invention as illustrated bycertain embodiments thereof, I do not desire to be understood aslimiting myself to the particular details shown and described. The scopeof my invention is defined in what I claim.

- What I claim is:

1. The method of constructing a seam welded rail'joint which comprisesaligning adjacent rail ends, fitting joint plates in fishing relation onopposite sides of the rail ends, bringing the rail heads directlytogether under moderate mutual endwise coinpression and integrallyuniting said plates to said rail ends by'head and base seam Welds while,said rail heads are in a state of moderate mutual endwise compression.

2. The method of constructing a seam welded rail joint which comprisesaligning adjacent rail ends, fitting joint plates in fishing relation onopposite sides of the rail ends, bringing the rail heads directlytogether under moderate mutual endwise compression through theinstrumentality of said joint plates, and integrally uniting said platesto said rail ends by head and base seam welds whilesaid rail heads arein a state of moderate mutual endwise compression. I

3. The method of constructing a seam welded rail joint which comprisesaligningadjacent rail ends, fitting joint plates in fishing relation onopposite sides of the rail ends, each plate having a surface along thetop edge thereof extending well beneath the adjacent rail head to form arecess and extending forwardly of the said head to form a ledge,bringing the rail heads directly together under moderate mutual endwisecompression, disposing weld metal in each said recess and on each saidledge to form seam welds integrally uniting the adjacent rail headsandplates, and forming base seam welds integrally uniting the rail basesand plates. 7 I

I, The method of constructing a seam welded rail joint which comprisesaligning adjacent rail ends, fitting in fishing relation on oppositesides ofthe rail ends joint plates having holes therethrough, said holesbeing slightly unaligned with respect to corresponding holes in the railends, bringing the rail heads together under moderate mutual endwisecompression by driving drift pins through the slightly unaligned holesin the plates and rail ends,

and integrally uniting said plates to said rail ends by head and baseseam welds.

5. The method of constructing a seam welded rail joint which comprisesaligning adjacent rail ends, fitting in fishing relation on oppositesides of the rail ends joint plates having holes therethrough, saidholes being slightly unaligned with corresponding holes in the railends, said plates each having a seam weld metal receiving surface alongthe top edge thereof extending well beneath the adjacent rail head toform a recess and extending forwardly of the said head to form a ledge,drivingdrift pins through the slightly unaligned holes in the plates andrail ends to bring the rail heads together under moderate mutual endwisecompression, and fusing with the electric arc adjacent portions of therail head and the upper surface of each plate and fusing therewithadditional metal to form a seam weld disposed in the recess and on theledge and integrally united to the rail head and plate, andforming seamwelds integrally uniting the plates and rail bases.

6. The method of constructing a seam welded rail joint which comprisesaligning adjacent rail ends, fitting in fishing relation on oppositesides of the rail ends joint plates having holes therethrough, saidholes being slightly unaligned with respect to corresponding holes inthe rail ends, each said plate having a surface along the top edgethereof extending well'beneath the adjacent rail head'to form a recessand extending forwardly of the said head to form a ledge, driving driftpins through the slightly unaligned holes in the plates and rail ends tobring the rail heads together under moderate mutual endwise compression,fusing with the carbon are adjacent portions of the rail head and theupper surface of each plate and fusing therewith additional metal from awelding rod to form a seam weld disposed in the recess and on the ledgeand integrally united to the rail heads and plates, and forming seamwelds integrally uniting the plates and rail bases.

7. The method of constructing a seam welded rail joint which comprisesaligning adjacent rail ends, fitting joint plates in fishing relation onopposite sides of the rail ends, the portions of said plates bridgingthe rail ends being strengthened. at their bases, bringing the railheads directly together under moderate mutual endwise compressionthrough the instrumentality of the said joint plates, and integrallyuniting said platesto said rail ends by head and base seam welds whilesaid rail ends are in a state of moderate mutual endwise compression. I

8. The method of constructing a seam welded rail joint which comprisesaligning adjacent rail ends, fitting in fishing relation on oppositesides of therail ends joint plates having their ends unaligned andsurfaces along the top edges thereof extending well beneath an adjacentrail head to form a recess and extending forwardly of said head to forma ledge, the portions of said plates bridging the rail ends beingprovided with strengthened portions, bringing the rail heads togetherunder moderate mutual end.- wise compression, forming with an electricarc seam welds disposed in the recesses and on the ledges and integrallyunited to the rail heads and plates, and forming base seam weldsintegrally uniting the plates and rail bases at opposite sides of saidstrengthened portions of said plates, all of said seam welds stoppingshort of the ends of the plates, and the ends of said seam welds beingstaggered with respect to each other.

9. A seam welded rail joint comprising aligned adjacent rail ends havingtheir heads under direct mutual endwise compression, joint platesarranged on opposite sides of the rail ends engaging the heads and basesof the rails in fishing relation and seam welds uniting the plates tothe rail heads and base seam welds uniting the plates to the rail bases.

10. A seam welded rail joint comprising aligned adjacent rail ends,joint plates arranged on opposite sides of the rail ends engaging theheads and bases of the rails in fishing relation, each said plate havinga surface along the top edge thereof extending well beneath the adjacentrail head to form a recess and extending forwardly of the said head toform a ledge, seam weld metal in each said recess and on each said ledgeintegrally united to the said plates and rail heads, and base seam weldsintegrally uniting the rail bases and the plates.

11. A seam welded rail joint comprising aligned adjacent rail ends,joint plates arranged on opposite sides of the rail ends engaging theheads and bases of the rails in fishing relation, each said plate havinga surface along the top edge thereof extending well beneath the adjacentrail head to form a recess and extending forwardly of the said head toform a ledge, seam weld metal in each said recess and on each said ledgeintegrally united to substantially equal areas of the said plates andrail heads, and base seam welds integrally uniting the rail bases andthe adjacent portions of the plates.

12. A seam welded rail joint comprising aligned adjacent rail endshaving their,

heads under mutual endwise compression, joint plates arranged onopposite sides of the rail end-s engaging the heads and bases of therails in fishing relation, each said plate having a ,Snrface along thetop edge thereof extending well beneath the adjacent rail head to form arecess and extending forwardly of the said head to form a ledge, seamweld metal in each said recess and on each said ledgefintegrally unitedto the said plates and heads, and base seam welds integrally uniting therail bases and adjacent portions of the plates.

13, A seam welded rail joint comprising aligned adjacent rail ends,joint plates arranged on opposite sides of the rail ends engaging theheads and bases of the rails in fishing relation, each said plate havinga web portion with holes therethrough and a surface along the top edgethereof extending well beneath the adjacent rail head to form a recessand extending forwardly of the said head to form a ledge, an outwardlyextending flange at the lower edge of the web portion adapted to engageand be weld ed to a rail base, the said flange having a lateralextension between the ends of the plates extending beyond the rail, baseadjacent to the rail ends, seam weld metal in each said recess and oneach said ledge integrally united to the said plates and rail heads andbase seam welds integrally uniting the rail bases and the plates.

14. A seam welded rail joint comprising aligned adjacent rail ends,joint plates arranged on opposite sides of the rail ends engaging theheads and bases, of therails in fishing relation, each plate having asurface along the top edge thereofextending well beneath the adjacentrail head to form a recess and extending forwardly of the said head toform a ledge, the portion of each plate bridging the rail ends being ofincreased section modulus, seam weld metal in each said recess and oneach said ledge integrally united to the said plates and the rail headsand base seam welds integrally uniting the said plates and the railbases. I

15. A seam welded rail joint comprising aligned adjacent rail endshaving their heads under mutual endwise compression, joint platesarranged on opposite sides of the rail ends engaging the heads and basesof the rails in fishing relation and with their ends unaligned, eachplate having a surface along the top edge thereof extending well beneaththe adjacent rail head to form a recess and extending forwardly of thesaid head to form a ledge, the base portion of each plate bridging therail ends being provided with an outwardly extending strengtheningportion, seam weld metal in each said recess and on .each said ledgeintegrally united to substantially equal areas of each said plate andrail head, said seam welds stopping short of the ends of the plates, andbase seam Welds integrally uniting the rail bases and the plates andextending from each side of the base strengthening POIf iQ J towards theends of the plates but stopping short thereof.

f 16. A seam welded rail joint comprising aligned adjacent rail endshaving their vided with an outwardly extending strengthening portion,seam weld metal in each said recess and on each said ledge integrallyunited to substantially equal areas of the said plates and heads, saidseam weld's'stoppingshort of the ends of the plates, and base seam weldsintegrally uniting the rail bases and the plates and extending from eachside of the base strengthening portion towards the ends of the platesbut stopping short thereof, all of saidhead and base seam welds endingin different vertical planes. 7

17. A joint plate for a Welded rail joint having a top surface adaptedto form a rec'e'ss between arail head and the plate, and to projectforwar'dly from the rail head to form a ledge when the plate isassembled with a rail to form a'rai'l joint.

18. A joint plate for awelded rail joint having a top surface adapted toform a silbi stantially horizontal recess between a rail the uppersurface of a railbase, and having a top surface adapted to form a recesswith the under side of a rail head and to project forwardly from therail head to form 'a ledge when'the plate is assembled with a rail toform a rail joint.

20. A joint plate for a welded rail joint adapted to engage in fishingrelation with the under surface of a rail head and the upper surface ofa rail base, said plate having a top surface adapted to form'arecess'between a rail head and the plate and to project forwardly fromthe rail head to form a ledge when the plate is assembled with a rail toform a rail joint, said plate having a flange at the lower edge of theweb portion adapted to engage and be welded to a rail base, the saidflange having a lateral extension between the ends of the plate adaptedto extend beyond a rail base when the plate is in assembled relationtherewith.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aifix my signature this 21st day ofJanuary, 1924.

ROY B. Flinn.-

